THE CLOCK IS TICKING

The Clock is Ticking..

     Robin, sitting in a way side restaurant did not know what befell him. He was cranking his head ,bending it on the table, to find a solution to the recurrent vexed problem, started by his supervisor. His head felt heavy and painful. After some time he wilfully slowly distracted and watched the serene ambience of the newly opened restaurant, full of young day timers enjoying coffee and snacks among the beautiful shrubs and plants filled with flowers in big pots and beautiful girls clamouring around serving everyone .

     His reverie was broken by a beautiful petit girl wearing a light blue restaurant uniform standing on the opposite side of table. She got his order and turned to collide with a young man and she bend down to gather her pen and pad. She crouched a bit more and seem to listen intently. She then crossed over to his side, pointed to the bag and demanded “Is this your duffel bag?” “ Yes it is.” Robin replied. “There is a similar duffel bag on the other side. .. She stated pointing at it . Robin noticed they were similar. She then stooped and whispered in his ears “ There is a clock ticking in this bag”. Robin in all surprise opened the zip and both found a bomb strapped inside it, ticking with the red light glowing. He was shocked ,fear griping him and he became jittery. “ Don’t panic. Keep quiet” said the petit girl. Maybe she knew how to tackle such emergencies. Then they turned to look at the duffel bag opposite and it was missing. “I saw a man similar in height and dress place this bag here and remove yours ,some time back when you were bending down on the table with your hands on your head. He switched bag and placed your's on the other side perhaps to confuse you.”

     Then the smart petit girl after some thought, turned and announced in the top of her voice “There is a dance programme with music behind the restaurant and it would start at once. Please, all of you move behind at once to reserve your front seat. There was a commotion and in no time the front foyer of the restaurant was empty .

She then caught the still frozen Robin’s hand and pulled him to rush outside , to distance themselves away from the bag. The bomb burst with a loud shatter and threw Robin under a table. Half dazed he turned and found the petit girl on his lap bleeding from the neck and very still. The front of the restaurant was in shambles . The meyhem was all around. The petit girl died saving him and all others . He was carried to an ambulance. He came to his senses later in the hospital with two police men on guard. After his dischage with a few splinter bandages in his hand and back, he was taken to the special wing of the police for questioning. The CCTV of the restaurant showed him handling the duffel bag and keeping it in the place from where it burst. The police did not beleive his true version, as the other person was not visible. Possible he timed the rotating Camera and entered inside evading it. The petit girl was not alive to vouch for him . As his father was an ex. Raw official he was left off, but he knew that they would keep him under radar and for the flimsiest reason haul him for questioning. The rigmorale of several police official questioning him and his friends and neighbours , searching his home, his mobile and laptop and strictly warning him not to leave the place without their permission, added to his woes. Robin continued to work , in spite of the notoriety and his exoneration. But he knew that the police in mufti was trailing him every where.

Robin had to receive his cousin who was coming from Delhi at platform number two of Mumbai’s central Railway station. So, early morning he caught the metro and alighted at the station. He sauntered to the platform and sat on a bench waiting for his cousin keeping the duffel bag by his side. He noticed an old man seating near him and he too was waiting for his son. The security was tight and the dog squad was sniffing all the bags . Robin was so engaged in the conversation with the old man that he did not notice the dog sniffing his bag and barking. Before he could sense the situation and act, police caight him and handcuffed him. The bomb squad arrived in no time, searched the bag kept near him with the bomb inside and diffused it . He was again taken to the police station and the rigmorale continued with more vigor, as he was caught red handed and with an antecedent. The CCTV footage exonerated him. They found an unknown person wearing the same dress and bag switch and walk away with his duffel bag His face was not visible. The investigation changed from direct I'm questioning to establishing his nexus with the unknown person. The police never thought of any angle other than this to establish and fix him as the prime suspect and end the case, due to pressure from the top. Robin decided to seek a solution himself and catch the culprit. Luckily, he found the deputy director of the special team more amenable for discussion and suggestions. He explained everything that happened earlier and sought his help. Someone was impersonating him and using him as a fall guy and It had happened twice.

The stage was cast for the terrorist apprehension at a park. Robin went everyday at 7 am when the crowd was maximum as it had a walker's lane . He would walk two rounds and rest in the bench and waited with baited breath for the terrorist who in his garb was hound winking the police. The police set up a perimeter outside and inside the park and all the entrance and exit were manned by the special team in mufti. The deputy director was always near by the big baniyan tree behind the bench with his revolver and the bomb squad stood ready in their van. Almost a week passed and there was no sign of him. No person dressed similar to Robin was detected. Probably the terrorust got wind of the plan and stayed away. The deputy director put plan B into action ,as he suspected that their was a mole in his department. All plain clothes men were withdrawn with only a sharp shooter zeroing in on the bench, put in place , on the explicit command of the deputy director who mixed with the crowd. The mole perhaps informed that the police have relaxed the vigil. The plan was explained to Robin.

Three days later the single police scout alert at the entrance reported a person similar to Robin with the same bag entering the park. The terrorist tiptoed to the bench and sat on it confidently. Robin sat nonchalantly deeply engrossed in his novel. As the terrorist tried to switch the bag, kept beside on the bench,Robin caught hold of his right hand and hancuffed it to the bench . When the tertorist tried to reach his gun with the left hand,Robin stuck it with a baton kept ready. The deputy directed pounced on the terrorist and impelled him. The bomb squad arrived and asked the terrorist to defuse the bomb if he wanted to stay alive. The whole area was cordoned off and all the people were evacuated to a safe place. The terrorist knew that killing himself without collateral casualties would not make him a martyr in the eyes of his superiors. Rather he would surrender and wait for an opportunity to escape later. He defused the bomb and was taken away. His complicity was proved beyond doubt and Robin an accused earlier became a hero among the police force and his friends, all because of the ingenuity of the deputy director. He was also promised a job in the Raw department just like his father. It was a successful operation except for the lose of the petit girl in the restaurant. At last the clock stopped ticking for Robin .

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